Behind the Seams Episode 3 Recap
At George Courey Inc., a 115-year-old, family-run North American textile supplier, focus isn’t a buzzword, it’s our operating system. In Episode 3 of Behind the Seams, Jeff, Rob, and Matthew unpack why we concentrate on three core markets: hospitality linens, healthcare textiles, and institutional laundry, and how that specialization translates into better quality, smarter sustainability, and more reliable supply chains for our partners.
From Door-to-Door to B2B Leader: A Brief Origin Story
We started in Montreal selling fabric door-to-door and later operated a storefront on Saint-Denis Street. Over time, we evolved into B2B institutional textiles, supplying hotels, health systems, long-term care facilities, and laundries across North America. That journey including owning one of the last Canadian towel mills (Cambridge Towel) means we understand textiles from yarn selection to final finishing.
Market #1: Hospitality Linens
Designing the Guest Experience
In hotels, textiles literally touch the guest: sheets, pillows, duvets, bath towels, pool towels, spa robes. We tailor programs for luxury, boutique, and select-service properties, aligning quality to brand standards and budgets.
What we emphasize for hospitality:
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True quality over shelf-appeal: No retail “softener illusions”—we engineer performance at the yarn and weave level for industrial laundry durability.
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Guest-driven specs: Hand-feel, whiteness retention, GSM, and finish that hold up to high-turnover operations.
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Protection & ROI: Bed bug mattress encasements with polyurethane backing help protect a property’s biggest in-room asset (the mattress) from moisture and pests—reducing replacement costs and protecting review scores.
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Amenity zones beyond the room: Pool towels, spa textiles, and gym towels designed for heavy use and fast turnaround.
Market #2: Healthcare Textiles
Comfort, Dignity, and Compliance
Healthcare requires comfort for patients and control for operators. Our patient gowns, sheets, blankets, microfiber cleaning textiles, and protective bedding are engineered for clinical performance, infection-prevention, and laundry efficiency.
Where we’re different:
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Crossover expertise: We bring the best of hospitality hand-feel into healthcare for long-term care and retirement living, where residents increasingly expect hotel-like comfort.
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Durability & lifecycle cost: Reusable healthcare textiles are lab-tested for wash-after-wash performance, helping reduce waste and total cost of ownership.
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Operational fit: Products are built for RFID/barcode tracking, standardized sizes, and efficient finishing in healthcare laundry environments.
Market #3: Reusable Surgical & Institutional Laundry
Depth Where It Matters
We treat reusable surgical textiles as a dedicated discipline. From isolation gowns to surgical gowns, wrappers, and drapes, we pair quality systems (including U.S. FDA 510(k) where applicable) with field-proven designs. For institutional laundries, we supply microfiber mops and cloths, terry and bar mops, wipes, and uniform basics products that perform in high-throughput plants.
Why this matters now:
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Tariff volatility on disposables is accelerating a shift to reusable surgical textiles delivering cost stability, waste reduction, and domestic job creation in washing, inspection, and repair.
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Nearshoring for resilience: Strategic Latin America manufacturing supports faster replenishment, better oversight, and reduced lead-time risk without sacrificing value.
The Common Thread: Real Sustainability (Beyond Buzzwords)
In retail, sustainability can sound like marketing. In institutional textiles, it’s measurable:
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Last longer: Fiber selection, weaving/knitting specs, and finishes tuned for industrial wash cycles extend lifespan.
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Dry faster: Constructions that shorten dryer time help cut energy use and bottlenecks.
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Made closer when it counts: Nearshoring improves agility, reduces transit emissions, and strengthens supply chain resilience.
Why Specialization Wins (for You)
Staying close to our lane lets us:
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Engineer for outcomes: softer hand, better opacity/whiteness, stronger seams, consistent shrinkage control.
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Standardize where it helps, customize where it counts: spec-driven programs that meet brand standards, infection-prevention, and laundry KPIs.
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Leverage supply partners across categories: one container can efficiently carry T300 hotel sheeting and T130 healthcare base sheets, spreading freight and driving value.
What’s Next: Institutional Laundry, Uniforms & Cross-Over Programs
We’re expanding thoughtfully into institutional laundry and uniform basics, building on shared yarns, finishes, and plant capabilities. Expect the same performance-first approach you know from our hospitality and healthcare lines.
Work With a Partner Who Lives Textiles, End to End
Whether you manage a multi-property hotel portfolio, a regional healthcare system, or a high-volume laundry, George Courey Inc. brings 115+ years of textile expertise, North American distribution, and nearshored manufacturing to help you run leaner and delight end-users.
Check out the full episodes of our podcast Behind The Seams!
YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJxm9u_cwN0bnsq5thf2tO2RFf5p4tsly&si=_xSXEypSgwKa2jBU
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/51WS4qet7nu2p5zYOTTa2V?si=fFGlmoxDSgaViXcxNtzCyw
Stay tuned for upcoming episodes, where we’ll dive deeper into the world of institutional textiles, hospitality linens, healthcare laundry solutions, and the people who keep this industry moving forward.
